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Snails Are Not All Bad

By Ken Zeedyk

Snails.

To an aquarist the word usually brings about visions of shredded plants, a tank infestation and the imminent purchase of a few clown loaches, but I have found a few species of apple snail that are actually fun to maintain and breed in my aquariums. Besides the beneficial algae scrubbing and left over food removal, they provide relaxing entertainment in the way they glide across the aquarium, and also a relatively easy BAP point. I’ve successfully maintained and bred these snails with my cichlids and livebearers, and have never caught them munching through a clutch of eggs as I’ve seen regular ramshorn snails do, and as of yet I have not had trouble with the species that I’ve kept in my planted tank. This isn’t to say they wouldn’t take the opportunity to get an easy meal, just that I’ve never caught them at it. As far as water parameters, I have had the best success keeping them in straight dechlorinated Lake Michigan tap water. They obviously need a higher pH and harder water for proper shell development, and they do great in my Tanganyikan tanks with a crushed coral and aragonite substrate. I feed them regularly with spirulina wafers and pelleted fish food, and they do a great job cleaning up any uneaten food I feed my fish. Otherwise I do nothing out of the ordinary for their maintenance. One word of caution; cover your tanks! I have found the Bridgesii to be particularly adventurous and they will climb out of the aquarium.

The following species can be found occasionally at local auctions and swap meets, and are usually listed by a number of breeders on AquaBid.

Purple Striped Mystery Snail (Pomacea bridgesii): This is a color variant of the common pet shop Mystery snail. Besides the usual wild type brown coloration, they come in a wide variety of colors including gold, albino, blue, ivory, and purple with and without stripes. Unlike other snails that often infest your tanks, apple snails are not asexual, and require a male and a female to reproduce. They lay pink egg clusters above the water line of the aquarium, usually on the glass lid. If you don’t want babies, simply remove the egg case. The eggs stay here for a few weeks, until the young snails start hatching out and falling into the tank. If the egg case does fall into the tank, it must be removed from the water for the eggs to survive. If necessary the case can be placed in a make shift incubator consisting of a small piece of egg crate or other type of rack set above the water line in a Tupperware container. The babies are small and transparent, but soon grow quickly in good conditions. I’ve had hundreds in a 20 long from a pair of prolific breeders. According to The Apple Snail Website, www.applesnail.net, this is the best apple snail to keep in a planted tank because they prefer a diet of fish food and dead or rotting plants. I personally have not tried the adults for an extended period of time in a planted tank, but they left the plants alone when housed with them briefly. One thing I have found entertaining with these snails is their fast rate of travel, and how they will occasionally parachute from the water line down to the tank bottom, using their foot as a kind of underwater hang glider.

Giant Columbian Apple/Ramshorn Snail (Marisa cornurieties): Often mistakenly referred to as a ramshorn snail, this species is an apple snail and does not reproduce nearly as fast as the red ramshorn snails. Unlike the Pomacea bridgesii above, they lay gelatinous egg masses under the water, which remind me a bit of frog spawn. If babies are unwanted, simply siphon off the egg mass, which is very easy to spot in the tank. I’ve found these a bit harder to breed than the bridgesii, but this may have been attributed to the size and age of the snails. Like the other apple snails, the Marisa has a breathing siphon and goes towards the surface occasionally for access to the air. Their respiration system consists of both a gill and a lung, and this combination is an adaptation to the tropical waters where they live, which in the dry season can dry up or have low oxygen levels. I have kept adults in my planted tank for extended periods, and did not experience any plant loss. The Apple Snail Website states they are not suited for planted tanks and are voracious eaters of all things green. I guess I got lucky, or else had really bad tasting plants. Mine seemed to feed mostly from the wafers and left over pelleted fish food on the bottom of the tank. Either way, the experts do not recommend housing this species with plants. One snail I had liked to cruise the front of his tank, where I had some low growing crypt plants and a moss ball. Occasionally the snail would get behind the moss ball and push it across the tank. I regret never getting that on video.

Spixi (Asolene spixi): The spixi snail comes from the south east of Brazil, from a region with a sub-tropical climate. It is a slower moving snail, compared to the other two species above, and is reported as mainly nocturnal. The group I house in a bare bottom breeder tank stay “camped out” within a few inches of the surface for most of the day, occasionally venturing forth, especially when they detect food. The small group I am housing in my planted tank is more active during the day, and I would guess it is because of the sheltering effect of the plants. I have read reports that Spixi snails will cross breed with Marisa cornurieties, so best not to mix the two species. The Spixi snails also deposit their egg mass under water, and do so on a regular basis on the underside of plant leaves. These are one of my favorite snails, with their attractive coloring, distinctive banding and smaller size, and so far I haven’t seen them munching on any of my plants. I have read some conflicting information on their plant eating tendencies, with some people writing they have had problems with these snails and soft leaved plants. They also appear to be one of the more popular snails on AquaBid, and usually go for a good price. I’ve only seen them offered once at a GVAC auction a couple years ago, so I’m not sure how many people actually keep them in West Michigan.

If you are looking for something different to add to your aquarium, give one of the Apple snail species a try. Detailed species descriptions, along with maps of their native and introduced ranges can be found at The Apple Snail Website. These snails provide some interesting color and movement, and perform a useful service by cleaning up any uneaten food. If the opportunity arises, give them a try.

They could also provide an interesting and unusual BAP point.